Bold proposals on table at crucial MMC meet

Is an automated electro-mechanical puzzle parking system an answer to the commercial capital’s parking woes?

Photo Credits: The Goan

MARGAO
Friday’s ordinary meeting of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC), just eight months ahead of the end of its current term in March next year, is set to be a significant one.

On the agenda are two ambitious, multi-crore proposals: a gasification plant to treat mixed waste and an automated puzzle parking system aimed at easing Margao’s chronic parking woes.

What makes this meeting particularly noteworthy is that both these technologies — gasification for waste treatment and puzzle parking for space optimisation — are being proposed for the first time anywhere in Goa. If approved, Margao would be the testing ground for these initiatives in the state.

Sources say Goa currently has no operational gasification plant, nor has any government, semi-government, or autonomous agency set up an automated puzzle parking facility. This has raised questions among both councillors and observers about whether the MMC’s elected representatives have sufficient understanding of these technologies to make informed decisions.

The scepticism is not unfounded. The MMC has had a rocky history with garbage treatment experiments — notably the failed venture with Pune-based Komex International — leaving both officials and the public wary of untested solutions.

MMC officials in private have adopted a cautious stance towards the two projects, which are being proposed by the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) and the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA), respectively. A senior MMC official admitted that prudence demands both agencies conduct detailed PowerPoint presentations to educate council members on the proposed technologies, their benefits, and their feasibility in the Margao context.

One MMC councillor, expressing concern, said the municipality had a bitter experience with previous private partnerships in garbage management. “The government should not treat Sonsodo as a laboratory for testing new technologies,” the councillor remarked. “It is only appropriate that GEDA and the government provide a clear and detailed explanation of the gasification plant’s features before any decisions are taken.”

With the spotlight now firmly on Friday’s meeting, all eyes are on the MMC to see whether it will push forward these novel solutions — or call for greater clarity before giving a nod to these two projects.

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Gasification plant at Sonsodo

The Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) has finalised Pune-based start-up firm M/s G D Environmental Pvt Ltd to set up the proposed 10-tonne gasification plant at Sonsodo for the treatment of mixed waste.

Tender to this effect was floated by GEDA on behalf of the Margao Municipal Council before finalising the Pune-based start-up firm. Documents accessed show that the firm has quoted Rs 7.300 crore to set up the 10-tonne gasification plant in Margao – Rs 3.73 crore for complete set-up of the plant and Rs 3.5 crore against a five-year comprehensive operation and maintenance contract cost.

Sources in the Margao Municipal Council informed that the City Fathers have not been given any PowerPoint presentation by the Pune-based start-up firm. Municipal Engineer Dipak Desai and Chairman of the Margao Sanitation Committee Camilo Barretto were part of the GEDA-constituted team that had visited Pune a year ago to inspect the gasification plant.

A ruling councillor pointed out that either the Municipal Engineer or the Chairman of the Sanitation Panel should explain the salient features of the gasification technology or GEDA should get the Pune firm to hold a PowerPoint presentation for the benefit of the City Fathers and members of the public.

Confusion also persists over the funding of the gasification waste treatment plant. GEDA Member Secretary Sanjeev Joglekar told The Goan that the MMC should foot the entire cost of the gasification plant. Margao Municipal councillors in private, however, wonder why the civic body should foot the bill of the plant when it is being proposed by a government body. “We need a garbage treatment plant at Margao. But, whether the waste is to be treated via the new gasification technology or through the tried and tested technology adopted at the Saligao and Cacora waste management plants is a question that needs to be decided,” the councillor added.

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Automated electro-mechanical puzzle parking system

What is this automated electro-mechanical puzzle parking system? How many automated puzzle parking projects are currently in operation in the state of Goa? How is the puzzle parking system different from the conventional parking lots already in existence in the state? Is the automated puzzle parking system suited to cater to the requirements of public vehicular parking, or only for housing societies and institutions to meet their in-house parking requirements? And whether the system is proposed to be implemented in the city on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) or BOOM mode and its impact on the users in terms of parking fees?

These and other unanswered questions have indeed come to the fore in the Margao Municipal building and outside, as the Margao Municipal Council is expected to take a call on the implementation of the automated puzzle parking system in the city on Friday.

Take note, the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) had floated the idea of the automated puzzle parking system for Margao when the Margao Municipal Council had deposited around ₹5 crore with the Urban Development Agency to set up a multi-level parking lot in the city.

That’s not all. The concept has come under citizen scrutiny for the simple reason that the GSUDA-appointed consultant has recommended that the parking project may be taken up under the BOOM or PPP mode.

GSUDA has already prepared the groundwork by floating an Expression of Interest for "Empanelment of bidder" for participation in tender and/or execution of jobs related with Design, Manufacturing, Supply, Installation, Testing, Commissioning, Operation & Maintenance of Automated Electro-Mechanical 5-Level Puzzle Parking System.

The project will have parking provision for 70 cars and 124 two-wheelers.